If you have 7 cards still in hand when you're up to 6 mana and you're not already winning the game, then this card is win more. The Draw 3 might put you there, but it's more often than not just gonna be a draw 3 for 6 CMC, now you're at 4-5 cards, maybe 6 and you still have the same board state.
Have you guys faced up against the new Bx Eldrazi lists? I'm getting wrecked by them and it feels completely unbeatable. They gain so much value from their creatures even if they don't resolve, which makes remand a good card for the, since they get to gain value twice. T1 relic is just back breaking too.
When you are playing infect, the most important thing to remember is to use your removal on your turn, not theirs. This may seem counter intuitive, but you want your opponent to use their pump spells on your turn when they cannot attack. On their turn if you bolt their creature they just pump it and you die. But if you bolt their creature on your turn they will pump their creature to save it. This is huge so then you make your opponents lose the value of their pump spells. Watch GreatNate here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6-d5w0pkhw
This is a matchup that has been favorable for me.
I like to do it end of their turn, because it allows to me to keep mana up in my turn, because you never know when they're just going to dump their whole hand and kill you in a single turn.
Looking at getting back into this deck. How do people feel about Pia and Kiran in place of a 5 drop like Thundermaw? It's 3 bodies, blockers, attackers, removal, and plays fantastic with Restoration Angel.
Thinking about something like this, which is a bit different from the normal lists. But I love Celestial Flare in this archetype (and it's real strong locally) because my preferred way to play it is to get a threat down (preferably Geist) and then just constantly swing in and protect it. Going back and forth on Clique vs Mindcensor.
You shouldn't be going back and forth between mindsensor and clique, you should be playing both. Baneslayer is not what it used to be, it doesn't effect the board, it's protection is meaningless and first strike doesn't do all that much unless you're blocking. I would rather have Thundermaw in it's place. I kinda like the idea of Pia and Kiran, I might include that card as a one-of and see how it performs.
Not really all that worried about burn, the Helix's do a lot of work in that matchup.
So I took this to FNM last Friday. Went 3-0, but the decks I faced weren't that competitive.
My sideboard did change. -2 Kor Firewalker, -1 Negate. +1 Crumble to Dust, +1 Dispel, +1 Keranos
1st Round was vs a UW Myr/Artifact ramp deck into Elesh/Walkers. I like the guy's idea tbh, but he was playing too few lands (19) and I just had a lot of removal for his guys, so he could never get to the mana that he wanted and stumbled on lands. Game 2 I brought in Stoney Silence and managed to draw into it turn 2, which just shut him down. Won 2-0.
2nd Round was vs mono-green infect. This guy's deck was a bit more competitive, first game I had removal for his first couple plays and was able to play around his pump spells and grind him out. 2nd game he was just too fast and I couldn't deal with it. The last game, he had a semi-decent opener, but then flooded out. Won 2-1
3rd Round was vs Grixis Delver. 1st Game I dropped a Geist and he couldn't deal with it and just continually cleared a path for it. The 2nd game was much grindier, but I eventually got a geist down again and rode it to victory. Won 2-0.
From those handful of games, I don't think there is much I would change about the deck. I have been toying with the idea of reworking the counter suite however. My thinking is, I have removal for creatures, so rather tailor my counters to non-creatures and make the counters 1 spell snare, 2 negate, 2 dispel, with another negate and dispel in the sideboard. What are peoples thoughts on this?
This list looks solid. I too am surprised that MixMastaPJ lost twice to affinity. Bad luck I guess. So far I'm 3-1 against Affinity (haven't seen it much) and feel that I should be 4-0. Stony Silence and early removal spells do wonders against them. I also have 2 wear/tears side board so that helps even more against the infect lands and cranial plating (or the odd ensoul artifact).
Synack for your sideboard: Is 1 crumble to dust going to help that much against Tron? I think you have a 15-20% of having it in hand by turn 4 (since you only have 1 in your deck). And if you mulligan hard for it then you might not have enough lands to play it by turn 4 or you might not be able to stop their turn 3 karn which exiles your land and keeps you from even getting to 4. Just a thought. I've pretty much ignored the matchup in my sideboard and accepted that it is going to be a bad one for me.
Dispel is a card which could help you in your sideboard. Especially since a lot of your creatures die to Electrolyze in the UWR, Grixis, and UR Twin matchups and that card could 3 for 1 you.
Just my thoughts.
Yeah, I'm still working on the my sideboard, I think the kor-firewarlkers can probably come out and I can slow in another crumble and a dispel. I don't think the burn match up is that bad with the helix's and spellskite in the side. Purge helps too.
I used to play URW quite a bit and recently I've come back to it with a list similar to yours, I'll post it below.
I'm really surprised that you lost twice to Affinity, as I've always found that to be one of my better matchups with Bolts, Path, Helix, and Electrolyze + snap, I find trading with them super easy and the life gain from helix really hurts them. After sideboarding, it's even better as you just side out most of your counter spells and bring in the sweepers and artifact hate.
I'm also loving Aven Mindsensor, he's really good in the current meta.
This list has been working fairly well, I've been winning quite a bit with it on Xmage and quite a few of the games I've lost have been my own fault. My life has been a bit too hectic to get out and play paper magic, but I'm might be able to swing a Modern FNM on Friday and I plan on taking this if I do.
There are some control lists that play them as a finisher I think.
I like to do it end of their turn, because it allows to me to keep mana up in my turn, because you never know when they're just going to dump their whole hand and kill you in a single turn.
4 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Restoration Angel
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
3 Remand
2 Mana Leak
1 Spell Snare
2 Jeskai Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Helix
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Flooded Strand
2 Steam Vents
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Island
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Mountain
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Celestial Purge
1 Wear // Tear
1 Keranos, God of Storms
2 Stony Silence
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Spellskite
1 Rending Volley
1 Negate
1 Dispel
2 Crumble to Dust
You shouldn't be going back and forth between mindsensor and clique, you should be playing both. Baneslayer is not what it used to be, it doesn't effect the board, it's protection is meaningless and first strike doesn't do all that much unless you're blocking. I would rather have Thundermaw in it's place. I kinda like the idea of Pia and Kiran, I might include that card as a one-of and see how it performs.
So I took this to FNM last Friday. Went 3-0, but the decks I faced weren't that competitive.
My sideboard did change. -2 Kor Firewalker, -1 Negate. +1 Crumble to Dust, +1 Dispel, +1 Keranos
1st Round was vs a UW Myr/Artifact ramp deck into Elesh/Walkers. I like the guy's idea tbh, but he was playing too few lands (19) and I just had a lot of removal for his guys, so he could never get to the mana that he wanted and stumbled on lands. Game 2 I brought in Stoney Silence and managed to draw into it turn 2, which just shut him down. Won 2-0.
2nd Round was vs mono-green infect. This guy's deck was a bit more competitive, first game I had removal for his first couple plays and was able to play around his pump spells and grind him out. 2nd game he was just too fast and I couldn't deal with it. The last game, he had a semi-decent opener, but then flooded out. Won 2-1
3rd Round was vs Grixis Delver. 1st Game I dropped a Geist and he couldn't deal with it and just continually cleared a path for it. The 2nd game was much grindier, but I eventually got a geist down again and rode it to victory. Won 2-0.
From those handful of games, I don't think there is much I would change about the deck. I have been toying with the idea of reworking the counter suite however. My thinking is, I have removal for creatures, so rather tailor my counters to non-creatures and make the counters 1 spell snare, 2 negate, 2 dispel, with another negate and dispel in the sideboard. What are peoples thoughts on this?
Yeah, I'm still working on the my sideboard, I think the kor-firewarlkers can probably come out and I can slow in another crumble and a dispel. I don't think the burn match up is that bad with the helix's and spellskite in the side. Purge helps too.
I'm really surprised that you lost twice to Affinity, as I've always found that to be one of my better matchups with Bolts, Path, Helix, and Electrolyze + snap, I find trading with them super easy and the life gain from helix really hurts them. After sideboarding, it's even better as you just side out most of your counter spells and bring in the sweepers and artifact hate.
I'm also loving Aven Mindsensor, he's really good in the current meta.
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Helix
2 Electrolyze
1 Spell Snare
2 Mana Leak
3 Remand
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Vendilion Clique
3 Restoration Angel
2 Aven Mindcensor
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Celestial Colonnade
2 Steam Vents
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Island
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Celestial Purge
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Supreme Verdict
2 Stony Silence
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Spellskite
2 Kor Firewalker
2 Negate
1 Crumble to Dust
1 Counterflux
This list has been working fairly well, I've been winning quite a bit with it on Xmage and quite a few of the games I've lost have been my own fault. My life has been a bit too hectic to get out and play paper magic, but I'm might be able to swing a Modern FNM on Friday and I plan on taking this if I do.